


The Halloween Party

by MillieTheCat



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:59:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15369147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MillieTheCat/pseuds/MillieTheCat
Summary: "Hux was kissing him. Armitage Hux. Asshole extraordinaire, pompous A* student, with his perfect hair and perfect teeth, bitchy persona and cutthroat ambition. That Hux. Was kissing him. Beside Phasma's fish pond."Phasma throws a Halloween party and forces Kylo to attend. While she wrangles him into a costume, she and Finn let slip that Hux, who Kylo once quite liked but now can't stand, miiiiight have a crush on him. Fortunately for Kylo, Hux has imbibed enough fortifying gin to give him the courage to finally say something.Fluff High School AU





	The Halloween Party

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this between 11pm and 2am, I just needed to get the fluff out of my system. Enjoy!

Kylo slouched against the wall, looking around, and gripping his beer in his hand. He didn’t know why he’d agreed to come to this ridiculous party, but Phasma had harangued him so much that he felt it was easier to agree than not. 

“You’ll have fun!” she’d insisted, shoving the invite card into his bag. “It’s fancy dress.” 

“What am I supposed to dress as?” he’d grumbled. 

“Get a set of teeth and come as yourself, you look vampirical enough,” she’d snorted at her own joke, then rushed off to class. 

So Kylo had ordered some gimmicky vampire costume teeth off eBay, thrown on his black hoodie, black jeans, and leather boots, and made his way to Phasma’s three-storey townhouse in the Wood Green suburbs on the chilly Saturday night. 

Kids had been seen running around in various Halloween garb, trick-or-treating, and it made Kylo’s lips twitch in fond memories of doing this back in New York, except back home they did it way better. The Brits just didn’t know how to do a good Halloween. 

Now, with Phasma’s sound system blasting an array of pop music into the lower ground of her home, Kylo wondered why he had agreed to come for the umpteenth time. 

She’d put on a good spread, at least, with a number of gluten-free, vegan, and low-carb options for the typical London hipster, and of course, everything was nut free. There was also drink on every other surface available, from endless bottles of wine, spirits, beer and cider, and soft drinks too, perched on the kitchen counters or on the large dining table. Everything was served in actual glassware too. No red plastic to be seen for miles. 

“Not the same, is it?” 

Kylo looked round and down and saw Finn had sidled up to him. Finn was the only other American at FO Academy, and while normally Kylo couldn’t stand the Lower Sixth, Finn wasn’t so objectionable that he’d make him leave. 

“Nope,” Kylo agreed, looking around. Phasma had stuck pumpkins everywhere, and there were fake cobwebs and glittery spiders strewn around the room. 

“Surprised you came,” Finn commented. “What are you?” 

Kylo bared his fake teeth. “Vampire.” 

Finn laughed. “Nice.” 

“You?” 

“Will Smith from the Men In Black,” Finn gestured to his suit, and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. 

“Nice,” Kylo nodded. “Go wrangle some aliens, I think Thannison came as the giant squid from Harry Potter.” 

“Finn!” 

They both looked to their left as Phasma came staggering over. 

“Hey Phas,” Finn shifted, clearly a little intimidated. Phasma loomed at six foot in full plate armour. It was a pretty impressive costume. 

“How come you don’t have a drink?” she demanded. 

“I’m sevente-” 

“Kylo, there’s a clean glass on the table next to you, pass it over?” Phasma gestured, and Kylo obeyed. She produced a bottle of pinot from somewhere, and filled it, then passed it to Finn. 

“Thanks, Phas,” Finn muttered. 

“What do you think of Kylo’s lacklustre costume?” Phasma gestured with the pinot bottle to Kylo. 

“Er…well it works,” Finn shrugged. 

“Nonsense,” Phasma grinned. “Help me bring him upstairs, will you?” 

“What?” Finn asked, confused. 

“What.” Deadpanned Kylo. 

“Oh please,” Phasma scoffed, “you think I would let you turn up to my party in ratty old jeans?” 

“I didn’t bring anything else,” Kylo scowled, and took a large gulp of his beer. This was why he didn’t do social stuff like this. People always tried to mess with him, like it was a joke. 

“I planned ahead,” Phasma grinned, her eyes glinting. “Come on, Finn, you can help.” 

“With what?” Kylo snapped, as Phasma grasped his elbow and started tugging him towards the hall. “Get the fuck off.” 

“Oh hush, grumble guts,” Phasma yanked him harder, and Finn, the little treacherous bastard he was, took his other elbow and began pulling him too. 

“I don’t want to put a costume on,” Kylo groaned, as the music fell to a quieter level in the hall. “I came to this under duress as it was.” 

“What are you forcing the poor unfortunate into this time, Phasma?” 

Kylo tried not to let his groan turn into a straight up growl. 

“Hux!” Phasma yelled with glee, as a blast of cold air hit them then disappeared as the front door opened and shut. 

Armitage fucking Hux came through the doorway, wearing a full length wool coat. Pretentious asshole. 

“Just about made it on the Piccadilly,” Hux said obnoxiously, wiping his shoes and pulling off his leather gloves. “Couldn’t get a cab,” he wrinkled his nose as if this was the most indecent thing to ever befall a man. 

“You’ll live,” Phasma rolled her eyes. 

“Drinks in the kitchen?” Hux asked crisply, clapping his hands together. “You’d better have brought the Bombay like I asked.” 

“You can find the large copa glasses in the cabinet over the dishwasher,” Phasma told him as he passed through the hall towards the kitchen and dining room. “And the Fever Tree is in the fridge!” she called after him. 

“Dick,” Kylo muttered. 

“Yes, we’ll get you some before the night is out,” Phasma said mockingly, pushing him up the stairs. 

“Excuse me?” Kylo wrestled against her grip indignantly. 

“Ex _cuse_ me!” Phasma and Finn intoned together, and then both fell about laughing, dragging him up the stairs. 

Phasma’s room was right at the top of the building, with her parents occupying the middle floor. She had her own bathroom, and her bedroom was big enough for a large double bed, a vanity dresser, and a desk, plus built in wardrobes. 

“So what do you want me to be?” Kylo scowled, crossing his arms, after she shut the door. He could feel the bass from downstairs thumping through the floor. 

“Jon Snow!” she announced happily. 

“No,” Kylo said immediately, glaring. 

“Oh come on!” she leapt over to her wardrobe and started rifling through it. 

“That would be pretty good, actually,” Finn shrugged. 

“Shut up,” Kylo snapped at him. “I fucking hate Game of Thrones.” 

“Too damn bad,” Phasma said, muffled by the clothes. “I don’t have extra armour, but I do…have…” 

She emerged holding a padded tunic with the accurate rhinestone details, and the quilted undershirt. 

“Where the hell did you get that?” Kylo asked, intrigued if only because it looked high quality. 

“I met a guy at Comic Con last weekend, he was flying out to Singapore the day after, and didn’t have space to ship it, so I bought it off him. Pretty legit, huh?” she seemed too excited. “There’s the chest plate thing, and also the sword.” 

Kylo really did groan this time. “I’m not doing any party tricks!” 

“Oh, come on Ky,” Finn piped up. Kylo hated it when people called him Ky. “It’s so cool.” 

“Fuck off,” Kylo scowled, crossing his arms. 

Phasma put the outfit on the bed and then reached back into the closet, pulling out a replica Jon Snow sword. 

“Please?” she pouted. 

“That look doesn’t work on a six foot Amazon,” Kylo sneered at her. 

She held out the pommel of the sword, and pushed out her lower lip. 

Kylo looked between the sword and Phasma’s fake-sad expression and felt irritation flare up in him. 

“Fine!” he snapped. “Why do I let you bully me into these things?” 

He took the sword, and she and Finn cheered. 

“You’re like children,” he grumbled, and instinctively spun it in his grip. 

“Yes!” Phasma clapped her hands together excitedly. 

He rolled his eyes, thoroughly annoyed, and spun the sword around himself twice. It was very light, obviously made for easy cosplay. 

“This is so cool,” Finn said giddily, holding up his iPhone. “Do some more, Rey will go nuts!” 

“Tell Rey to stop stalking my Instagram,” Kylo said to the camera, spinning the sword around him and twirling once. “If she wants lessons, she knows where to find me.” 

“Nah, man,” Finn kept recording as Kylo did basic, lazy drills with the sword. “Your uncle won’t let her within a mile of FO.” 

Kylo grit his teeth and stopped the theatrics. Finn put the phone down. 

“Can we get the costume on?” Phasma held up the quilted shirt. Kylo sighed. At least it looked cosy. 

Ten minutes later Kylo was sat uncomfortably in front of the vanity, while Finn was hair spraying his hair into more tailored curls, and Phasma was drawing facial scars onto his cheeks with a mixture of prosthetic putty and lip-liner. 

“You look so great,” she chirped happily. “Can we spar in the garden? Think of the views.” 

“Social media whore,” Kylo muttered, which earned him a pinch. “Ow!” 

“Just because you know I’m stronger,” Phasma said childishly. 

“Just because you’re a freak of nature,” Kylo replied, just as childishly. 

While Phasma couldn’t technically wield a sword or foil with any actual skill, she was still disturbingly powerful, and Kylo had received more than enough bruises just from her sheer brute strength. She wasn’t on the fencing team, as much as Kylo tried to persuade her, if just to have someone to talk to. 

“I think that will do,” Finn said, with one last puff of hair spray. “Looking good, Snow!” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Kylo said sullenly. 

“That’s the spirit!” Phasma said happily. “Can I stab you in the stomach to really get that Jon Snow expression?” 

“No stabbings, please.” He snapped off the fake vampire teeth. “From one undead asshole to another.” 

“Jon Snow is not an asshole,” Phasma corrected. “He’s my hero.” 

“Your hero is about to go get plastered,” Kylo announced standing up. Finn passed him his sword, and he rolled his eyes, sliding it into the belt Phasma had provided. 

“Phas, do you have a safety-pin, my—oh.” 

The door opened and fucking Hux stepped in. 

“Yeah, somewhere,” Phasma started rooting around a drawer on her vanity. 

“Nice costume,” Hux smirked, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. His gaze roamed down Kylo and back up again, and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and his skin heat up. 

“What are you?” he mumbled, not wanting to be the focus of attention. 

“Ron Weasley,” Hux shrugged. 

Kylo scoffed. “Boring.” 

Indeed, Hux was in Gryffindor robes, and had a wand in his hand. 

“Hardly,” Hux sniffed. “No more original than Jon fucking Snow.” 

“Phasma chose it,” Kylo scowled.  

“Yes, and Phasma did a great job,” Phasma interrupted, holding out a safety pin for Hux. “Weird seeing you with loose hair.” 

Hux ran a hand over his hair, which did noticeably have less product in it than usual, but it was still smooth and sleek over his head, just not glued into place. Kylo realised the hair touching was a nervous tic, because Hux was frowning slightly and fiddling with it. 

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged, “not many ginger options.” 

“Chuckie?” Finn offered. “Syndrome?” 

Hux pulled a face. 

“Black Widow?” Finn continued. “Sansa?” 

“Alright enough,” Hux snapped, holding up a hand, as Phasma gasped. 

“Oh you two could have matched!” she shrieked. 

“If I recall,” Hux said icily. “Sansa has long hair, and spends most of the time in a dress.” 

“You’re pretty much in a dress already,” Kylo pointed out. 

“Okay, fuck you all,” Hux flipped them off and left, his footfalls being heard on the stairs. 

Kylo grinned. It was nice to not be the person constantly being riled up, and Hux was so easily riled up. 

“Or you could have been Harry Potter,” Phasma said thoughtfully. 

“No.” Kylo could just about live in medieval garb. If he had to wear dumb glasses and stupid robes, then he would rather go home early and watch Rey’s online status on Instagram and update her Twitter every five minutes, like some sort of sad 18 year old stalker/creep. 

“I don’t think that works if Harry and Ron are trying to hate-fuck eye-fuck each other, Phas,” Finn pointed out with a smirk. 

“Excuse me?” Kylo rounded on them. 

“Ex _cuse_ me!” Finn and Phasma squeaked in perfect time, then fell about cackling. 

“Hux and I do not have a thing!” Kylo said angrily. 

“Yeah you do,” Phasma smirked. “Admit it.” 

“No,” he crossed his arms, which was hard since the outfit was just a touch too tight. “I’ve known Hux since we were like 11. He’s always been insufferable. You guys have only known him for Sixth Form.” 

“Weren’t you like, best friends?” Finn asked. 

“No,” Kylo felt if he scowled any harder his face might fall to the floor. “We were both just losers who had no friends, so we were always stuck sat next to each other.” 

“Did you ever meet Brendol?” Phasma asked. 

Kylo stuck her with a stare. “Yes.” 

Phasma had gotten into FO Academy on the recommendation of Brendol Hux. She was his protégé, his shining jewel. Academically gifted, brilliant at sports, gorgeous to look at- yes, Brendol Hux had fought tooth and nail to get her a scholarship. And as soon as she’d gotten in…Brendol had mysteriously disappeared. Most said he’d been caught up in Operation Yewtree, since he was so high up and wealthy. Some said he’d killed himself. Everyone had looked at Armitage, the poor boy who had been bullied by Brendol, and either pitied or feared him. Either way, Armitage had used it to his advantage, and had cleverly climbed the social ladder with Phasma to become the most popular person in the Sixth Form, abandoning Kylo in the dust. 

“So you know where he gets all that harshness from,” Phasma raised an eyebrow. 

Brendol had been the deputy headmaster and head of Latin for the five years Kylo had been at FO, until his mysterious disappearance. He used to discipline Hux in their classes in front of everyone, without a care for propriety. Kylo remembered the sharp slap across Hux’s cheek he’d received for incorrectly conjugating his ablative gerundive. Everyone had gasped. But Hux had just calmly corrected himself. 

“I know where he gets all that asshole from,” Kylo said defensively. 

“Oh, come on,” Phasma pursed her lips. “You don’t actually think that. Look past the sour exterior.” 

“Are you trying to set me up with Hux?” Kylo said curtly. “Because he’s the only gay in the year? Or because he’s the only other asshole?” 

“Well if it gets you off Rey,” Finn muttered. 

“What was that?” Kylo snapped, rounding on him. 

“Hey now,” Phasma held up her hands. “Look, Kylo, darling, we know you’re all strung up on Rey.” 

“I’m not-!” Kylo tried to defend himself, but she cut across him. 

“But it’s not good for you!” Phasma said soothingly. “If you just maybe look at your other options-” 

“Other options?” Kylo repeated incredulously. “Oh yeah, let me just check them lining up at the door.” 

Finn let out an appreciative snort. “Dude, don’t short change yourself. Anyway, what is wrong with Hux?” 

“Other than his personality and everything he stands for?” Kylo said sarcastically. “Why the fuck are you guys pushing this?” 

Finn and Phasma exchanged furtive glances. 

“Look,” Finn sighed. 

“Uh oh,” Kylo said darkly. 

“We just think,” Phasma said slowly, “that maybe…Armitage might…sort of like you.” 

Kylo gaped. “What? Are you having a stroke?” 

“Just the way he kinda looks at you,” Finn shrugged. 

“He looks at everyone that way!” Kylo frowned. “Like he wants to carve them up for dinner.” 

“No, hon, that’s just you,” Phasma said sympathetically. 

“Has he said something?” Kylo asked, and then blushed at how quickly he’d said it, like a fifteen year old girl demanding to know about a crush. 

“Well,” Phasma said slowly, holding up her hands and shrugging, “kinda.” 

“Kinda??” Kylo demanded. “Ugh, this is too weird.” 

“You are bi, right?” Finn checked. 

“Yeah,” Kylo frowned uncomfortably. “And?” 

“Oh, good,” Finn said relieved, and smiled. “Same.” 

Kylo raised his eyebrows at him, as if it wasn’t blatantly obvious. 

“Well, Armitage is really gay,” Phasma said. “And recently, at lunch, he won’t shut up about you.” 

Kylo sat heavily on Phasma’s bed, and pulled out the sword to look at it, too awkward to keep eye contact. 

“It’s all ‘Kylo has a new coat, where do you think it’s from?’ And ‘Kylo spilt the HCl in chem this morning, Peavey went nuts’ and ‘Kylo signed up for the ski trip, do you think we should too?’ It’s getting a little…suspicious,” Phasma pulled a matter-of-fact face. 

“Maybe he’s just…I don’t _know_ ,” Kylo whined, “bored?” 

“Yeah, looking for some excitement,” Finn smirked. Kylo smacked him with the flat of the sword. 

“Have you even ever dated a person?” Phasma asked, putting her hands on her hips. 

Blood rushed to Kylo’s cheeks. 

“Oh my god,” Phasma snorted, and Finn let out a laugh. 

“Shut the fuck up,” he mumbled. “You guys are assholes. I’m going to get a drink.” 

“Sorry!” Phasma and Finn called out after him as he left the room and stomped downstairs. He heard them giggling all the same. 

Much to his chagrin, Kylo got a lot of compliments on the outfit. One girl had come as Denaerys, and wanted to drunkenly “incestuously make-out”, which Kylo cringed away from, practically sprinting to the kitchen where the party was less rowdy. He grabbed another beer, and sulked by the fridge, keeping an eye out for the Denaerys girl. The best part of an hour ticked by, and Kylo got more and more tipsy, talking to two of the guys on the fencing team for a while, but not really listening. 

Finn and Phasma had no clue what they were talking about. He wasn’t some sort of pity date for their sad and lonely friend. And yes, at the end of the day, Hux was Phasma’s friend more than Kylo was her friend. Maybe Hux had zeroed in on the least attainable boy in the year, and taken it as a challenge. Either way, Kylo should feel indignant. 

Instead, he wasn’t feeling indignant. He was feeling a little bit curious. His eye caught a flash of red at the far side in the living room, where most people were dancing in the semi-darkness. Maybe it was just a feeling of flattery, but the idea that he’d caught Hux’s attention even a little was giving him a satisfied feeling. Once, years ago, they could have been considered close. They sat together in every class, they completed homework in the library together, and they’d had lunch together. But that was ages ago, when they were both, like, 11 years old! Now they were adults (barely), and Kylo knew his wounded pride from being dumped in exchange for a bit of social status was immature and a waste of time. But perhaps if Hux _hadn’t_ forgotten him… 

“Nice Jon Snow!” 

Kylo looked round to see Poe Dameron standing there dressed as Batman. 

“What are you doing here, Dameron?” Kylo took a large gulp of beer. He’d need it. 

“Finn invited me,” Dameron smiled wanly from under the mask. “Have you seen him?” 

“He was upstairs,” Kylo gestured towards the stairs. “But Phasma was with him.” 

“Oh,” Dameron’s irritatingly blasé expression fell slightly. Phasma did not like Dameron, or any of the Resistance lot really, except Rey and Finn. She had a soft spot for Rey. They all had a bloody fucking soft spot for Rey. “I was hoping to avoid her for the whole evening.” 

“Well it is her house,” Kylo shrugged, annoyed. How stupid do you have to be to come to someone’s house if you’re trying to avoid them? 

“How are you doing, Solo? I haven’t seen you since Rey whooped your ass at the semis.” 

Kylo grit his teeth and took another drink. It was starting to hit him. 

“She’s still sorry about that, by the way,” Dameron grinned, nudging his shoulder with his shoulder. “I think we can both agree it was within the rules though.” 

“What the fuck do you want, Dameron?” Kylo scowled, keeping his eyes firmly trained on the living room, where people were jumping up and down in the din of the music. 

“Hey, buddy,” Dameron held up his hands defensively. “I’m just making small talk.” 

“Yeah, well go make it elsewhere,” Kylo grit out. 

“Ah, Ben, don’t be like that,” Dameron said smarmily. “Rey wants us to be friends.” 

“Yeah? Well why doesn’t she come talk to me herself, instead of accidentally double tapping on my progress pics from two years ago?” Kylo snapped, feeling his temper bubble over. 

Poe was an assistant coach at the fancy sports academy Rey attended. He’d met her through his uncle, whom he had poor relations with, but Luke was the only relative here in England, so Kylo had very little choice. Poe was only 21, but acted like he was so much older than the rest of them. At the last fencing tournament, Kylo had lost to Rey out of fluke…even she acknowledged this…but the judges had deemed it legal… 

“I doubt Luke would like that much,” Dameron smirked. “Bad influence, and all that.” 

“Why don’t you just f-” 

“Ren!” 

Kylo stopped mid-sentence and turned to see Hux at his right. 

“You’re tall,” Hux said absently. “Can you reach the copa glasses at the back of the cabinet?” 

Kylo narrowed his eyes at him. He and Hux were of a similar height. 

“Hugs!” Dameron said, delighted. “How are you, my pasty little friend?” 

“Go suck a dick, Dameron,” Hux said snootily. 

“Nah, I know where they’ve all been,” Dameron winked. 

Kylo busied himself with reaching up into Phasma’s cabinets to ease out two large glasses. 

“How’s the Resistance going?” Hux said nastily. “I heard you got fined.” 

“A little inconvenience,” Dameron grinned. “The law isn’t there to make revolution easy.” 

Hux made such a condescending noise, Kylo was impressed Dameron didn’t expire right there on the spot. 

“Here,” Kylo shoved two glasses into Hux’s hand. 

“Thanks, Kylo,” Hux gave him a dazzling smile, which caught him right off guard. He wasn’t aware that Hux could even arrange his features like that. “Do you want one?” 

“Er…sure?” Kylo didn’t even know what he was agreeing to. 

“See you around, Ben,” Dameron smirked at him, as Hux busied himself between them with a bottle of gin. 

“See you in hell, Dameron,” Kylo muttered to himself, glad to see him leave. 

Hux snorted. “Fucking prick.” 

“You can say that again,” Kylo mumbled. 

Hux had a bottle of tonic water, and poured it into both glasses, which were almost half filled with gin. He passed one to Kylo, and looked up directly into his eyes. “Fucking prick.” 

Kylo gulped, and blinked rapidly. Hux’s cheeks were flushed from the party, and his pupils were dilated from alcohol. 

“Cheers,” Hux’s lips twitched into the beginnings of a smirk, and he clinked his glass against Kylo’s. 

“Yeah,” Kylo said lamely, and took a deep drink. Tonic water was nasty, and the gin was fucking strong, but he didn’t dare choke. Hux was taking his own sip, his eyes fixed firmly on Kylo’s face. He felt himself blushing. 

“Don’t let Dameron rile you up,” Hux advised, patting Kylo on the arm. “He’s a piece of shit.” 

“Mhm,” Kylo nodded dumbly. 

“Do you remember that shit he wrote on the Resistance website about me?” Hux said absently, leaning against the counter next to Kylo. 

“Er…vaguely,” Kylo frowned. During the formative years of the Resistance, they got into a lot of trouble for libel and all sorts, but they had some mysterious backer. Sometimes Kylo feared it was his own uncle. Or worse…his mother. 

“About my mum?” Hux said, taking another drink. 

“No?” Kylo was mildly curious. 

“Called her a prostitute and an undocumented immigrant?” Hux said nonchalantly. 

“Fuck,” Kylo said stupidly. 

“Yeah,” Hux took another drink. “It’s the fucking EU, dumb fucking yank doesn’t even know how that works.” 

Kylo said nothing. 

“No offence,” Hux added. “You’ve been here so long I forget you’re American.” 

“Thanks?” 

Hux turned, and grinned. “It is a great costume, by the way. You should totally go show off some moves out in the garden. I think someone has come as a wight.” 

Kylo shifted uncomfortably. “Nah.” 

“Don’t you remember that video of you in the car park back in Year 10? With that guy challenging strangers?” 

Kylo did remember. He’d been 14, and already a national champion, and some idiot was making a YouTube video by chucking people lightsabers randomly in this car park, and challenging them to a duel, while blasting John Williams. It had been quite a funny video in the end, but Kylo had gone viral for being the only stranger who had caught the lightsaber and immediately jumped in with insane stunt work. 

“Meh, that was then,” Kylo shrugged. 

Hux didn’t push it. “Had much movie work recently?” 

“I got called into Pinewood over the summer,” Kylo shrugged. “They needed me to train some guy.” 

“Nice,” Hux said appreciatively. 

Kylo realised this was the most civil conversation they’d had in a while, and by far the longest conversation they’d had since they were kids. 

“Hey,” he said awkwardly, hastily taking another drink. “Thanks for stepping in, with Dameron.” 

“No problem,” Hux gave another dazzling smile. “I hate him. You shouldn’t have to put up with it.” 

“Thanks,” Kylo said again, awkwardly. Hux had disturbingly perfect teeth, and some excellent bone structure. 

“You don’t have to do anything,” Hux said, pointing to the sword, “but come out to the garden anyway? I need the fresh air.” 

“You need to stop drinking,” Kylo gestured to the nearly empty glass. 

Hux only grinned, and stepped out the kitchen onto the patio. 

It was dark, but Phasma had outdoor lighting so the garden was softly lit. 

"Sorry for being all snappy before," Hux said, wobbling slightly, but making it over to the hammock that was tied between two trees. 

Kylo didn't know what to say. Hux wasn't the sort to apologise. He kept in mind what Phasma had said...about Hux taking an interest. 

"My costume was half falling apart," he huffed a laugh. "I was getting agitated." 

"You're always agitated," Kylo blurted out, before cringing, and taking a drink. His head was definitely spinning a little now. 

"Yeah," Hux sighed. He sat in the hammock, and started swinging in it, clutching his glass. "I can be a bit of a bastard." 

Kylo said nothing, just watched the midges flit around in the light. 

"Got uni plans?" Hux said, changing the subject. 

"Heading back to New York," Kylo mumbled. 

"What." 

Kylo looked up. 

Hux had stopped swinging, and was now looking dead at him, a crease between his eyebrows. 

"Well, I got this scholarship, but after that, why would I stay?" Kylo shrugged. 

"Don't you like London?" Hux demanded. 

"Sure, I like it," Kylo said quietly, not liking the attention. "But I never intended to stay." 

"Don't you want to study here?" Hux seemed inordinately upset about it. 

"Not really," Kylo shrugged. "You guys do it weirdly." 

Hux frowned, and dropped his gaze to his glass. 

"What about you?" 

"Cambridge, Imperial, Bath," Hux recited. "PPE." 

"What a surprise," Kylo said under his breath. 

"Got an unconditional from Bath," Hux smirked. "Already." 

"I'm really not surprised, Hux," Kylo said candidly. Hux was top of the year, top of everything, except sports. In that regard, Hux was very, very thin, and could barely do anything other than track. "Cambridge will be desperate for you." 

Hux gave a soft smile. "Thanks." 

They lapsed into silence, and Hux resumed his swinging. Kylo started walking around the garden, looking at all the different plants Phasma had. He didn't know anything about plants, but he found it peaceful. She had a walled pond that had some sizeable fish in it. He perched by it, and dipped his fingers in, enjoying how they came and nipped at them. 

He didn't notice Hux come up behind him. It wasn't until Hux had taken the gin and tonic out of his hand and deposit it on the wall of the fish pond did he realise that the boy was in his space. 

"What are you-?" Kylo barely got out before Hux had taken a handful of his hair and kissed him squarely on the mouth. 

Kylo froze, his brain going into overdrive. 

Hux was kissing him. Armitage Hux. Asshole extraordinaire, pompous A* student, with his perfect hair and perfect teeth, bitchy persona and cutthroat ambition. That Hux. Was kissing him. Beside Phasma's fish pond. 

Hux pulled away breathless. "Oh. Fuck. Sorry. I just...fuck." 

He stumbled back, and brought his hand to his hair, smoothing it down. 

"Fuck, Ren, I didn't mean....shit." 

He turned and began to march across Phasma's garden, back towards the house, hunched over. 

Kylo's mouth was feeling the cold of the air, wet from the kiss. Heat was tingling up his spine, and his fingers were feeling twitchy.  

 "Wait," he heard himself saying, and for some unknown reason, he pushed himself off the edge of the pond, and strode after Hux. 

"Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just...assaulted you like that," Hux was saying stiffly, gathering his robes around him as he didn't make to stop. 

"No," Kylo said dumbly, reaching out and grabbing Hux's shoulder, and spinning him round to a standstill. 

"What?" Hux demanded shortly, unable to look him in the eye. 

Kylo hesitated for a second, taking that moment to drink in Hux's alcohol-stained cheeks, and shiny pink lips. For months he'd been pining after a girl who he'd met barely a handful of times, whom he'd put on a pedestal all because she got lucky once, when there was this gorgeous thing wanting his attention all along. All reasonable thought flew out the window, and Kylo brought his hand up to the back of Hux's neck. 

Hux's eyes flickered up, a dash of hope behind the muggy drunkenness, and Kylo pulled him in for another kiss. 

As far as he had expected kissing to go, this was better than imagined. Hux had very soft, very plump lips, and they were pliant as Kylo carefully kissed him, not rushing. 

They broke apart after a short while. 

"Ah," Hux said, weakly. 

"Do you like me, or something?" Kylo said, stupidly. 

"Or something, yes," Hux breathed, staring intently at him. "I should have...I don't know...asked nicer." 

"Maybe," Kylo agreed. "Why were you always a dick then?" 

"I don't know," Hux waved his hands around. "It's easy, isn't it. You were a weakness, and I didn't have space for weaknesses." 

"What?" Kylo said dumbly. He really was on a roll. "A weakness?" 

"Yeah," Hux rubbed his forehead nervously. "You were my only friend. But I had grades to achieve, and places to go." 

Kylo frowned. "And now you have the grades, and you know where you're going, you have space to think about me." 

"Yeah," Hux didn't sound convinced. "No. That's not- I don't know!" 

"You thought me a friend?" Kylo asked quietly. 

Hux looked at him, and cocked his head. "Weren't we? I know I was a dick, but...weren't we friends?" 

"Yeah," Kylo whispered. "Yeah, we were friends." 

Hux's lips twitched upwards. "Well...how about, if you can forgive my dickishness, you let me take you out some time, and consider being my...my boyfriend?" 

Colour flushed the rest of Hux's face, up to the tips of his ears, and Kylo couldn’t help it – an grin cracked over his face. 

"Yeah...I'd like that." 

"Ohthankgod," Hux said in one exhalation, and smoothed back his hair again. "Sorry I didn't do this better. Apparently I need two gins to even have the guts to talk to you." 

"You seem pretty confident in yourself," Kylo shrugged, reaching over to touch his hair too. It was soft and shiny. 

Hux let out a weak laugh. "It's an act." 

"Well it works," Kylo shrugged. He let his hand slide back to the nape of Hux's neck, and they both glanced at each other's mouths at the same time. 

"Can I...?" Hux bit his lip and then swallowed. 

"Mhm," Kylo pulled him in again, and this time neither was taken aback. 

Hux wrapped his arms around Kylo's midriff, and Kylo brought his other hand up to Hux's jaw. Hux's mouth was warm, and tasted of gin, and he made a tiny moan when Kylo nipped his lower lip with his teeth. Their tongues brushed for a split second, and Kylo felt shivers go down his spine before he pushed forward insistently and licked along the edge of Hux's lip, making him gasp and open his mouth. 

"Kylo, are you out here? I said I wanted to spar—oh!" 

Kylo and Hux fell apart from each other hastily, each wiping their mouths and straightening their clothes, looking anywhere but at each other. 

"Oh my god," Phasma was by the kitchen door, silhouetted by the lights inside. "Hux!" 

"Phasma," Hux said with as much propriety as possible. "We were just admiring your..." 

"Fish pond," Kylo supplied. 

"Mate, I don't keep any fish where you two were looking," Phasma stepped out, grinning like she'd just won the lottery. 

"Er," Kylo rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Yes, about that," Hux cleared his throat. 

"Finn!" Phasma bellowed. "Thanisson, Mitaka! GET OUT HERE!" 

"No, don't do that," Hux cringed. 

"What is it?" Finn poked his head out the kitchen door. "Oh hey Kylo...Hux...wait... _no!_ " 

"Yes!" Phasma yelled. "Within the hour, too! Damn, does this mean I lose?" 

"You said after ten, it's only nine," Finn checked his watch. 

"What's going on?" It was Thanisson, followed by Mitaka, their snobby voices filtering out from the kitchen. Kylo wasn't fond of Hux's upper-class English friends. 

"Hux finally made the move," Finn was smirking. 

"About fucking time," Thanisson rolled his eyes. "Damn, I said not 'til the ski trip. Does this mean Dopheld has won by default?" 

"I don't appreciate my friends betting on my love life," Hux snapped, crossing his arms. 

"£200, Armitage!" Dopheld piped up happily. "Thanks, mate!" 

"Fuck off, the lot of you!" Hux snapped. 

They were met with a chorus of "oooOOOOooohh!"s, but Finn, Thanisson and Mitaka took their leave. 

"Told you," Phasma winked at Kylo. "Don't either of you desecrate my garden, mind. Save it for your own homes." 

"Yes, ma'am," Hux said sarcastically. 

"And you should probably..." Phasma glanced at Kylo. "You know...tell him. The stuff." 

"I will," Hux said stiffly. She turned and trotted back up the patio into the kitchen. 

"Tell me what?" Kylo asked. 

Hux sighed. "About my dad." 

"Oh," Kylo grimaced. He didn't really want to know. 

"I...er...he's dead, Kylo," Hux said quickly. 

"Oh...I'm sorry?" 

"I killed him." 

Ice fell down Kylo's spine, but then he recovered. "Okay." 

Hux eyed him suspiciously. "Okay?" 

"Okay," Kylo nodded, and then nodded again, as if trying to persuade himself. "I mean...he was a cunt." 

Hux let out a reluctant laugh. "He...did some shit to me. I didn't mean to, it's just...he was there, on the footbridge, you know the one near the tributary at the back of the grounds? Drunk as fuck. He'd just finished...well," Hux swallowed thickly. "And then Phasma was there. And she had him in a choke, and she asked me what to do...so I said..." 

Kylo felt bile rise up in his throat. "Why are you telling me this?" 

"Because if you want to be with me, then you deserve to know," Hux said quietly. 

Kylo nodded. It was sick. It was wrong. But it wasn't changing his mind. He remembered Brendol's stinging smack in the Latin class. 

"Thank you for telling me," Kylo said slowly, and pulled Hux in to his chest by his arms. Hux let out a shaky exhale, and wrapped his arms around Kylo's torso. 

"I doubt most guys want to date a murderer." 

"It's not murder if it's self-defence," Kylo said diplomatically. 

"It wasn't self-defence, I--" Kylo cut him off with another kiss. 

Hux's lips were trembling, so Kylo pressed on them firmly, bringing his hands up to cup Hux's jaw. 

"Where did you learn to kiss?" Hux breathed, when they separated. 

"Nowhere," Kylo pressed feather light kisses down Hux's cheek, and to his neck. 

"Nowhere? Am I your first kiss?" Hux said with some delight. 

"Mhm," Kylo held Hux in position as he began nibbling. 

"Careful," Hux pulled gently on his hair. Kylo felt a jolt in his stomach, and his breathing hitched. 

"Oh, you like that?" Hux said sweetly, tugging again on the fistful he had. 

"Yes," Kylo whispered, pressing a kiss to Hux's cheek. 

"I wonder what else you like," Hux mused. 

"I wonder," Kylo brought his arms down and swept Hux out from under the knees, catching him bridal style. 

"Oi!" Hux objected, clinging to Kylo's neck. "Put me down!" 

"Sure," Kylo grinned, marching over back towards the hammock. "How much do you weigh?" 

"Enough," Hux scowled. 

"I could probably run a marathon with you on my back," Kylo remarked. 

"Or hold me up against a wall for half an hour?" 

Kylo felt his face heat up, and he cleared his throat, before depositing Hux into the hammock. 

"Sorry, that was a bit much," Hux smiled ruefully. He budged up and patted the space next to him. "Sit." 

Kylo did as he was bid, and because it was a hammock, they both ended up squished next to each other at the apex. Kylo brought his squashed arm around Hux's thin shoulders. 

"So how long have you been interested?" Kylo said nonchalantly. Inside he was burning to know. Since the start of term? For the last week? 

"Since we met," Hux replied, and Kylo felt his jaw slacken. 

"What?" He said dumbly. 

"I said, you were my only friend. I've kind of had a thing for you since we were, I don't know...thirteen?" Hux shrugged, and leaned up against his chest. 

"Why didn't you say something?" Kylo demanded. 

"Well first of all, I didn't know you were bi," Hux said matter-of-factly. "Second of all, I didn't want to creep you out. Thirdly, I couldn't afford a distraction-" 

"Didn't you get 12 A*s?" Kylo interrupted. "And your A-levels are all predicted A*?" 

"...yes," Hux conceded. "And I probably wouldn't have if I'd let myself be distracted." 

Kylo wanted to point out that Hux must have immense self-control to harbour a crush for five years and not let it distract him, but refrained. There would be time to talk later. Instead he just let the calm of the chilly evening envelop them, with the muffled thumping of the party music filtering through. 

"What...what did you think of me?" Hux said, and his hand came up again to flatten his hair. 

"I don't know," Kylo said slowly. "I guess I was resentful that you just, I don't know, abandoned me." 

"Sorry," Hux sighed. "I am such a dick." 

"It's okay," Kylo squeezed his shoulders. "I could've made more of an effort." 

When they started their A-levels, and after Brendol had mysteriously disappeared, Hux began sitting with Phasma at lunch. They shared very few classes, only Chemistry three times a week, and sat on different lab benches, so their interactions were limited to asking to pass the conical flasks, or bumping into each other when they both wanted to talk to Phasma. It wasn't like Kylo was specifically excluded from the group, it's just that he preferred to be alone. 

"Things weren't good, last year," Hux muttered. "I- I should've trusted you more." 

"I could have helped you," Kylo said, earnestly. "Why didn't you tell me-?" 

Hux cut him off by pulling his face round and kissing him again. 

Kylo's nose bumped awkwardly against Hux's face, and he internally cursed, but Hux didn't seem to mind. He opened his mouth against Kylo's lips and pressed against him more firmly, knocking their teeth together and squashing their noses. 

"It's amazing that I'm actually doing this," he breathed, resting his forehead against Kylo's. 

"It's amazing to me that you even want to," Kylo huffed. 

"You are so irritatingly attractive," Hux grumbled, before entwining his hand in Kylo's hair again and claiming his mouth. Kylo thought that might be a little bit of hyperbole, but wasn't about to argue. 

They sat there for some time, wrapped around each other, kissing and nipping until Kylo started to feel a little uncomfortable and breathless. There was a tightness in the pants Phasma had given him, which he didn't want Hux to notice; luckily Jon Snow's tunic went to the knee. 

"It's getting a little chilly," Hux mumbled, shifting closer into Kylo's chest. 

"Want to go back inside?" Kylo offered, rubbing his hand up and down Hux's arm. 

"Not really," Hux smiled. "Better than freezing to death out here." 

They got up out of the hammock, and Kylo held out his hand which Hux took with another dazzling grin. 

"This is insane," he muttered. "I'm holding Kylo Ren's hand." 

"This is insane," Kylo smirked at him. "I'm kissing Armitage Hux." 

And he yanked Hux closer, enveloping him in another kiss. Hux responded happily, gripping Kylo's hips. 

"Yikes," Hux gasped out of the kiss, glancing down between them, and then rolled his hips against Kylo's, who blushed and looked away. "All for me?" 

Kylo bit his lip, but had definitely felt Hux's own erection. 

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Hux smirked, and pulled him back in to the kiss. 

They were interrupted by a bunch of flashing lights and several shrieks. 

Looking up, they saw much of Phasma's party all hanging out the door to stare at them, phones held aloft. 

"Ygritte and Jon Snow!" One of Phasma's hockey friends squealed. 

"Oh do fuck off, Malarus!" Hux snapped, not letting go of Kylo. 

They were met with a chorus of oohs and wolfwhistles. 

"Leave them alone, guys!" Phasma was heard from the back of the crowd. "Give the lovebirds some alone time." 

There were many giggles and whispers as the crowd dispersed back into the house. 

"Do you want to head back to the dorms?" Kylo asked Hux. He wasn't in much of a mood for more of the party, he was more interested in spending the rest of the night kissing Hux, preferably without an audience. 

Both he and Hux had dorm rooms at FO, since Hux was technically orphaned, and Kylo would rather kill himself than live with Luke. They were single occupancy en-suites, but Kylo imagined they could both squish into one bed together. The idea gave him warm tingles in his stomach. 

"Sure," Hux smiled. He really was gorgeous when he smiled like that. "Are you sure we can't tempt you to show off some skills before the costume is gone forever?" 

"Come with Phasma and me to Comic Con next year and I'll go full out," Kylo promised, booping his nose. "You can even video me and harvest all the likes you can." 

Hux brought a hand to his chest in fake flattery. "You are too kind." 

"Only if you wear a dress," Kylo added, laughing when Hux scowled. 

"I'd better get sewing, then," Hux raised his eyebrows. 

Kylo laughed some more, and wondered how this was the happiest he'd felt in a while. It was like his skin was buzzing. 

They said their goodbyes to Phasma, and Hux's friends, who just smirked as they left, still in costume, but Kylo didn't care. It was Halloween. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr! [milliethecat](https://milliethecat.tumblr.com/)


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